This fall promises to be full of some awesome new releases in the world of teen lit. We’ve already seen new books by Ellen Hopkins, Smoke, (released September 10) and Walter Dean Myers' Invasion (September 24)

November New Releases

In November, we will see new titles from Margaret Peterson Haddix, Full Ride(November 12); Tamora Pierce, Battle Magic, from the Immortals series (November 24); and of course, we have the theatrical release of Catching Fire (November 22).

So much win for one season!

Are there any upcoming books, or movies you’re excited about? Leave a comment and let us know!

Welcome back to the Tech Blog! If you'll reminisce with us for a movement, you'll recall that we've had posts in the past about creating your own websites and mobile apps. Learning how to do that just got a thousand times easier with the Library's recent release of Treehouse - Click on the banner below.

Learning Adventures

Learn the basics for creating your own website, mobile app, or web app. The instructors recommend free software, show you how to create and edit apps and sites, and explain the process for launching a site or adding your app to a Marketplace.

Deep Dives

Want to know all there is to know about HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby, or Database Foundations? Then be sure to go through one of the Deep Dives to sharpen your skills.

So Much More

Each section is taught by a professional developer and contains video instructions, quizzes, code challenges, and a forum to reinforce your learning. The forums are moderated to keep the content relevant and to ensure correct information.

In the current job market, there is a strong demand for individuals with computer coding skills, and these careers are very well paying. Be sure to check out this amazing resource freely available through your library.

Have you tried Treehouse? We'd love to hear from you, so comment below.

Autumn is the perfect time to pull on a sweater and grab a chilling read. Here are a few haunting reads to get you ready for Halloween.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Seventeen-year-old Kami Glass has spent her entire life in a small English town called Sorry-in-the-Vale. She has always had a hard time fitting in; she is Japanese and looks like no one else in her town, and she hears a voice in her head that she has been talking to from the time she was born. But, despite being an outsider, Kami is very bold, constantly pursuing answers to the mysteries that surround her.

She and her best friend and tough sidekick, Angela, run the school newspaper. Life in Sorry-in-the-Vale is fairly dull with few interesting stories to publish outside of children’s cricket camp drama. But everything changes once the Lynburn family returns to town. For starters, the voice in her head, Jared, turns out to be a real person (and not just any person): a Lynburn who seems as gorgeous as he is dangerous. As if that isn’t confusing enough, she also meets his equally attractive cousin, Asher. While Kami is trying to wrap her head around that drama, she is pushed into a well and nearly drowns. Someone is out to kill her, but who, and why? Does the boy in her head hold the answers? Click here for a link to the Library catalog.

The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins by HP Newquist

When you think of blood what comes to mind? Gore ? Death? Blood is an essential part of life that has affected human society, both culturally and scientifically. This book explores medical research over several centuries, as well as the folklore, fear, and religious and political barriers that have hindered our understanding of blood and the basic functions of the human body.

Surprisingly, our current knowledge of blood and the circulatory system was not discovered until the beginning of the 19th century. Even after the invention of the microscope, bloodletting continued as standard practice until some doctors began to question it after George Washington’s death.

Beginning with ancient civilizations and mythology, the book follows humanity’s social and scientific relationship with blood through to modern times. The second half of the book details the scientific functions of blood. The last section of the book explores the myths and legends related to blood, such as vampires, that have continued in popular culture. If you want a great read full of information without the dryness of a traditional textbook- I highly recommend the Book of Blood. Click here for a link to the Library catalog.

Have a favorite scary novel or ghost story? Share below in the comments section.

Welcome back to the blog for some exciting, web-based fun! One of our past topics Geographic Information Systems (GIS) covered analytic map-making software that you can use for school research projects.

But what if you simply want to plot a set of waypoints on a map to embed in a blog? A Google Fusion Table can be created for free using Google Drive. Check out our example map below of all 18 Library branches:

Collecting and Formatting Your Data

The most important part of putting together your map is correctly formatting your data into columns. In fact, when working with databases and spreadsheets, it is best to think of your columns as fields and your rows as separate entries in each field. Let's take a look at an example together:

This table is organized into two fields (Location and Address), and we see the first 11 entries--one for each branch. Each field has a specified data type, text for branch, and addresses has been formatted as location.

The table we made is very simple with no additional information, but you can add as many fields as you want. Your fields can include links to photos or websites, so be creative. The information will be displayed on the location marker on your map.

You can create and edit a spreadsheet using Excel or Google Spreadsheet and upload it to Google Drive. (Note: you will need to sign up for a Google account, which is free. You can use any email address and do not have to create Gmail account.)

Making Your Fusion Table

Once you have logged into your Google Drive account, select the 'Create' button. At the bottom of the drop down dialogue box, select 'Connect to More Apps' and search for 'Fusion Tables'. This will add Fusion Tables to the list of documents that you can now create.

You can create your table from scratch using Fusion Tables or upload a previously created table from you computer.

Once you have create a table with addresses (you can also use Geographic Coordinates for locations that do not have an address), click the 'Map' tab and Google will geocode your addresses and create map of you locations. You can select the drop-down menu from the 'Map' tab to edit the map style and settings.

Publishing and Sharing your Map

Once you have fine tuned your map and are ready to share it, select 'File > Share' and set you parameters. You can share it with one or more people and email a link to your map, or you can select share publicly and publish in a blog post or website.

To share on another site, select 'Tool > Publish' and copy the HTML embed code into your blog or site.